On Choices

Alright, so in my last post on choices I stated that, “There is an answer that is right or best in every decision.” I wanted to expand on this further as I think it is important to both that post and life as a whole.

So, to start off, this idea presupposes that there is a goal towards which you are reaching. It may be that you want to be a professor, you want to buy a new computer, or you want to simply have a fulfilling life. If we assume there is a goal towards which you are reaching then depending on how you want to reach that goal there are best, or right, choices to be made along that path. If you want to be a professor, it is likely that it is best for you to go to graduate school. If you want to buy a new computer it may be best for you to not buy a new TV. These are decisions that are obvious, however, with easily defined goals and easily definable steps to reach those goals. What about when the goal and the steps are not so clear?

Well if the steps towards a goal are uncertain then your sub-goal is then to figure out what those steps are. You ask friends and family for advice, you search online, or you read up on the topic at the library. Then as you acquire more information on the matter you begin to see what steps must be taken and those steps then become your new sub-goal. If the end-goal itself is uncertain then you start by trying to determine what your end-goal is or should be. Once you have decided on an end goal you then attempt to determine the steps necessary to reach that end goal.

Ok, so what if you don’t have an end-goal and you simply want to enjoy life for itself without any purposeful goal? Well that is your goal: to enjoy life for itself. The steps may then be to simply follow your heart and do as you please. Now, I do not think that is actually true of anyone, I think everyone has a goal in life, but it is your prerogative to think what you will.

This all boils down to the idea that as human beings we are goal-oriented. Nothing we do is without purpose or direction. We always have a goal in mind for any particular action. It may not always be a conscious goal or an extremely important or fundamental goal, but it is a goal nonetheless. We do not do anything without reason. I have often heard people say, “Everything happens for a reason.” Often this is attributed to a strange coincidence or an unfortunate event, and is meant to imply that all events happen for a reason. However, I think this idea has been derived from our sense of our own reasoned action that we unwittingly apply to the physical world around us.

This is why I say, “There is an answer that is right or best in every decision.” We are goal oriented beings that do nothing without reason and that considering our intentions there is always a best decision to be made in order to reach the goal we have set forth for ourselves.